Background Information
When we are looking at the word 'Consumer', it is important to make students realise that we are not just looking at buying and selling.

Anyone who buys a magazine or goes to the cinema is a Consumer and they are directly taking the decision to buy those goods or services.

The dictionary definition of Consumer is 'the user of an article' and it is therefore important to remember that we are also Consumers when we pay for goods and services indirectly via our taxes, eg - schools and health service.

When we buy goods and services, there is usually a chain of other people involved and this can increase the chances of something going wrong.

It is, therefore, very important to have rules when both buying and selling goods to ensure that everyone involved in the chain expects the same thing to happen.

Rules also exist to ensure that Consumer has the:

• Right to choice
  
  
• Right to accurate information
  
  
• Right to safety
  
  
• Right to value for money
  
  
• Right to redress

What is a Consumer is covered in Year7 - Rights & Responsibilities

Background Information
This Country has a set of rules, which states how the Country should be governed, sets standards for personal behaviour and procedures for handling personal disputes. These rules are called the law.

The term 'law' has many different definitions, however, in this case we are concerned with the law of a state and we will, therefore, use the definition - a rule of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced among the members of a given state'

If we are using this definition, then it is important to realise that not all rules are the law.For example - whether you have to wear a uniform is up to the school; it may be one of their rules but it isn't the law.

Who makes the Law?
Every day, the law affects everything that you do in your life and as a consumer, the law is there to help you get a fair deal by trying to strike a reasonable balance between you and the supplier.

Today, the law is made by Parliament, whose elected members from time to time produce statutes or Acts of Parliament that the rest of society must then follow.

English Law is one of the great systems of the world and one-third of all mankind is today ruled by laws that came originally from here.

The Law has developed from a number of different sources and Students will be able to understand the basis of our legal system, by learning some of these basic historical developments of law.

Historical Developments
1) Common Law - english legal development stems from 1066 and the Norman Conquest. At this time, law existed but different judges from different areas made different decisions. This meant that there was no real legal system that anyone could rely on.

Some time around 1250, however, the judges began to apply the principle of 'stare decisis' (let the decision stand). This meant that whenever a judge made a decision on a new problem that had arisen, all of the other judges would follow the decision that had been made in that particular case.

This made the law more certain and predictable and, this is when we acquired Common Law and our characteristic of a legal system.

2) Equity - Generally, equity means fairness. In English Law, equity has been described as a supplement to common law. It was developed as a way of filling in the gaps and making the English system more complete.

3) Judicature Acts 1873-75 - These Acts were a result of a period of Judicial reform during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The final results of the Acts were the fusion of the administration of both common law and equity.

4) Legislation - The original role of the Monarch was merely to maintain order and peace and defend the state. Parliament developed as a group with representatives from around the Country, who would present the King with petitions requesting changes in the law that he may or may not grant. This has developed over time and today in Britain, we have a constitutional monarchy.

Although the Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) is the head of the state, she has lost all actual power. She acts in accordance with the will of the Government of the day (headed by the Prime Minister and a Cabinet), which in itself is to Parliament, which is composed of representatives of the people elected by popular vote.

Successive Governments have interfered more and more positively with the social, economic and industrial aspects of national affairs. Many areas of common law have now been reformed and legislation (Acts of Parliament) is therefore the main source of law today.

Classroom Discussion
Ask the students to think about the word Law.
How is the law different to rules?
What do the student think that the word law means?

Write down all of their different ideas. As a class, agree on the definition of law that you will use.

Background Information
In order to understand how Consumer Law affects our everyday lives, it is important that students understand the difference between Civil and Criminal Law.

Our legal system divides our laws into two categories; civil and criminal. Each serves a very different purpose.

Civil Law
Civil Law deals with the rights and duties of one individual to another. One of the main areas of civil law that applies to Consumers is the law of Contract. The law will determine whether a promise is legally enforceable and what its legal consequences are.

For example: - If you made a contract with a supplier and they let you down, perhaps by not delivering goods on an agreed date, then you'd look to the civil law to help you.

Similarly if a shop sold you faulty goods and refused to give you a refund it would be a civil matter.

Or if you lent something to a friend who refused to give it back, that too would be dealt with by civil law. Your friend wouldn't be a criminal but you could sue for the return of your property. If the Court thought your claim was fair they'd probably order your friend to pay you compensation. The legal word for this is damages.

Criminal Law
Criminal Law is concerned with establishing social order and protecting the community as a whole. It gives us a set of rules for peaceful, safe and orderly living. People who break these laws can be prosecuted and if found guilty they could be fined or sent to prison, or both.

Most prosecutions are brought by the Police, for offences like murder and theft - but they aren't the only ones who enforce the criminal law.

Trading Standards Officers, Environmental Health Officers and Customs and Excise Officers can also prosecute offenders.

Many of our consumer laws come under the criminal category.

For example: - traders can be prosecuted for serving short measure, or charging more than the advertised price, or watering-down alcohol or milk.

Problems like these would be investigated by local Trading Standards Departments on behalf of all the people living in the area.

Classroom Discussion
Look at the definition of law that your class agreed on in the previous teaching activity. Discuss and consider the need for law. What would happen if we didn't have any law?

Look at the definitions of Civil and Criminal Law and discuss the differences between them.

Give out the Students Worksheet and ask the students to read the different laws and decide whether they are civil or criminal law

Student Worksheet - Civil and Criminal Law

Civil Law
Every consumer transaction is based on the law of contract. The consumer is agreeing to buy goods or services and the seller is agreeing to provide them.

Unfortunately, the major problem that buyers face is that the goods that they buy turn out to be defective, therefore civil law exists to provide rights and obligations for both the buyer and the seller.

Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

These are the major Acts that support and assist consumers when buying goods and services. These Acts are dealt with in greater detail in Year 9

The following areas are all covered by criminal law, which means that any trader who breaks these laws can be prosecuted. All of these areas are enforced by Inspectors from the local Trading Standards Departments.

* Weights & Measures Act 1985
This Act makes it illegal to give short weight or an inadequate quantity. Trading Standards Officers, therefore, make sure that customers are not given less than they have paid for and that traders don't use inaccurate weighing or measuring equipment.

To do their job the Inspectors visit all kinds of premises including markets, shops, factories, mobile shops, petrol stations, one-day sales and pubs. They check scales, measures and metering equipment and will also make special test purchases to make certain that when customers buy something they are not being cheated.

It is also an offence to mark goods with a wrong indication of their amount.
For example: - If you buy a bag of potatoes marked 1 kilo, then it should contain at least that amount and no less.

However, many factory-packaged goods are now packed under what is called the average weight system. In practice it means that some packs may contain fractionally more or less than the stated quantity subject to certain tolerance limits laid down in the Act.

*Food Safety Act 1990
This Act is intended to make sure that we're not made ill or poisoned by the food we eat and that we're not cheated by false or misleading food labels or advertisements - like so-called slimming aids and health foods.

Years ago it wasn't unusual for traders to tamper with the food they supplied.

Milk was a popular target for sabotage. Watering-down became so common that it was very rare to find any cream on the top. Beer and wine suffered similar fates too.
The Food Act says that it is not only illegal to add anything harmful to food but it is also against the law to take anything away from it by diluting it or watering it down.

The law also covers food labels and advertisements and they must be truthful.
For example: - if the label says "contains 10% butter", then the product has to contain exactly that. The label should give a list of ingredients and there are strict rules about what is allowed to go into a particular food.

Manufacturers who fail to meet these standards can be prosecuted, usually by Trading Standards Officers. Their Officers regularly take samples of all sorts of different foods and send them to an Analyst for testing. If the Analyst finds anything wrong he will report back to the Inspector who then decides what action to take. Often this will lead to a Court case.

The Act also controls food hygiene in factories, shops, cafés, restaurants, stalls, mobile shops and vehicles (like ice-cream vans). The rules about hygiene are enforced by Environmental Health Officers, so if you see anything that suggests uncleanliness in a café, shop or restaurant, like the odd mouse or cockroach, you should report it to your local Environmental Health Department.

And finally, it's against the law to sell food containing foreign bodies. You'd be surprised at some of the things that have turned up; a baby mouse in a bag of peanuts: a snail in a bottle of ginger beer; a frog in a packet of garden peas; even a sliced rat in a sliced loaf!

*Trade Descriptions Act 1968
This Act sets out to protect consumers from traders who either deliberately or accidentally mislead their customers.

It is a criminal offence for a trader to falsely describe the goods he or she is selling. For example:- a second-hand car described as having had "one careful lady owner and low mileage". The Act says that if you're given details like this then they must be true.

The Act also makes it illegal for traders to knowingly mislead you about the services they are providing. For example..-

• If your Hotel is described as being 50 yards from the beach, it should be;
  
  
• If the brochure says that every room has a sea-view, they all should;
  
  
• If a dry cleaner charges you for water-proofing a rain-coat he should do it.

*Consumer Protection Act 1987
Part III of this Act deals makes it a criminal offence for traders to mislead consumers about the selling price of goods, services, facilities and accommodation with prices.

Some examples of illegal practices would be:-

• Price-marking shoes at £17.99 a pair but selling them for £19.99
  
  
• Advertising a can of drink with "15p off manufacturer's recommended price" but failing to make the full reduction.
  
  
• Claiming to have reduced prices e.g. "last week £10, today only £7.50" without ever having charged the higher price.

To help traders comply with the law the Government has produced a set of guidelines called the "Code of Practice for Traders on Price Indications". The Code gives advice on most areas of pricing and is intended as a good practice guide.

*Consumer Credit Act 1974
This Act covers virtually all types of credit and hire agreements and aims to promote truth in lending by making sure that advertisements for credit facilities are accurate and that consumers are given adequate information in their credit agreements.

Anyone who lends money, arranges credit or hires out goods for more than three months has to have a licence from the Office of Fair Trading in London. It is a criminal offence to trade without one.

Most credit deals involve something called "interest" charges. These represent the cost of borrowing the money and a trader must give details about them. If interest is being charged on the loan it must be shown as an annual percentage rate (or A.P.R.).

*Consumer Protection Act 1987
Parts I and II of the Act deal with unsafe goods try to prevent or reduce the risk of consumers being injured by dangerous or defective goods.

It says that traders who supply new goods must make sure that those goods are safe. Sometimes specific safety standards may be approved to help traders to comply with the law. The range of goods covered by safety regulations include:-

• Anoraks for children: they must not be fastened at the neck by a drawstring.
  
  
• Bunk beds: must not have wide gaps that could trap young children.
  
  
• Cosmetics: shouldn't damage your health (or your body) and must not contain lead or other heavy metals.
  
  
• Toys: must be flame-resistant and made without sharp edges or spikes or parts that can be easily pulled off (like eyes). Plastic bags containing toys must either be thick or have an opening too small for a child's head.

This list is by no means complete but it will give you some idea of the wide range of items covered by safety regulations. Anyone in the chain of distribution who sells goods that do not meet the safety standards is committing a criminal offence.

Classroom Quiz

Another area of Trading Standards work that is particularly relevant to young people is the sale of age-restricted products to anyone underage.

Over the centuries, adults have been worried that some young people may be exploited, so legal rules have been made to protect them by preventing them from carrying out certain activities.

Use the Quiz to see how much students already know about the ages that they have to reach before they are allowed to do certain things. When running through their answers, ask their opinions on whether they feel the ages are fair in each case and if not, why not.

Students Worksheet on Underage Sales

Here is a table to show what the law allows you to do at certain ages.

Background Information
The Courts are concerned with determining the outcome of both civil and criminal matters. The Courts for these two areas are organised separately.

Click here, if you would like to see a diagram showing the structure of the Courts Systems

The Criminal Court System
A criminal trial involves the adjudication of a dispute between a person and the State, in which the latter seeks to have the former punished. There is a division between serious and minor criminal activities.

Magistrates' Court - These courts deal with the less serious forms of criminal activity. Juries are not used in these Courts.

Crown Court - These deal with the more serious forms of crminal activity. The use of juries is a feature of the work of these courts. Click here

The Criminal Justice System On-line website shows the progress of a case though the criminal court system and highlights where young people may be involved

The Civil Court System
Hears disputes between two private parties. The State is not directly involved with the presentation of a case and the aim of seeking arbitration by the Courts is for one party to assert wrongdoing by another.

As with Criminal Courts, civil courts are also graded as follows:

Small Claims Procedure - deal with minor disputes (maximum sum claimed cannot exceed £5,000)

County Court - these deal with a wider range of civil disputes. It also deal with family matters such as divorce and child custody.

The High Court - this hears the more serious civil cases and is divided into 3 divisions

• Queen's Bench Division
  
  
• Family Division
  
  
• Chancery Division
  

The following are appeal Courts that hear cases of both Civil and Criminal nature:

Court of Appeal - This Court hears criminal appeals from the Crown Court and also civil appeals from the County Court and High Court.

House of Lords - This constitutes the final court of appeal for both civil and criminal cases. Before entry into the EU, this was the highest Court in the United Kingdom and if you lost your case here then you could not appeal any higher.

Since joining the EU, cases can now be taken to:

European Court of Justice - The main purpose of this Court is to ensure that EU law is adhered to within member countries

European Court of Rights - In 1950, the Council of Europe drew up the European Convention of Human Rights, which is enforced by the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This body investigates complaints that may be made by State or individuals and its findings are then considered by this Court.

The Court you will eill go to depends on the type of case with which you are involved. Different types of courts hand out different types of penalties:

CIVIL COURT

1) DAMAGES - This is the most frequently sought form of redress. By damages we usually mean money. It is financial compensation for what has happened.

2) INTEREST - Interest on the damages given to you by the court may also be payable by the losing party - often payable from the date the dispute or accident occurred.

3) COSTS - It is generally accepted that the loser pays the winner's costs of bringing the case to court. Whilst this may be quite minimal in small claims action, for cases over £5000 there is a risk that you will have to pay substantial costs.

4) AGGRAVATED DAMAGES - The civil courts will not send you to prison if you lose your case because their aim is to compensate not punish. However, if a defendant behaves very unreasonably then the winning claimant can apply to get extra money to "punish" the defendant for the way he acted.

5) SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE - Usually, if a trader breaks an agreement to sell, then you can sue for damages. However, if the trader agrees to sell a rare item (eg, a Van Gough painting) and then refuses, the court can order specific performance, which means that painting must be handed over to the buyer.

6) INJUNCTIONS - A Positive Injunction means that the other party must do something. However, a negative injunction orders the other party to REFRAIN from doing something.

CRIMINAL COURT

If you are found guilty of a criminal offence, then you may receive the following punishments:

1) IMPRISONMENT - The judge would order you to be placed in prison and also recommend the length of the sentence that you should serve.

2) FINE - The judge would order you pay an amount of money that s/he considers adequate to punish you for the offence that you committed.

3) BAN/POINTS ON DRIVING LICENCE - Depending on the seriousness of most traffic offences, a judge can ban you from driving for a set amount of time. You can also be awarded points on your licence, if the points on you licence exceed a certain limit then you will automatically be banned from driving.

4) ABSOLUTE/CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE - These are nominal penalties that a judge can give out in certain circumstances.

5) COMMUNITY SERVICE - A judge can order you to do a set amount of hours working for your community.

6) SUSPENDED SENTENCES - This is where you are not sent to prison but time is added on for that crime if you later commit any further imprisonable offences within a certain period of time.

7) COMPENSATION ORDERS - A judge can make you pay compensation to the victims of your crime.